Smith helps No. 9 Duke rout Charlotte, 101-59

DURHAM, N.C.(AP) -- Mike Krzyzewski settled in at the podium
between his two veteran guards, gesturing first toward Nolan
Smith and then toward Jon Scheyer.

"I know these guys are happy to be together again," Coach K
said.

Especially when things click like this.

Smith scored a career-high 24 points in his return to the
lineup, Scheyer added 20 and the ninth-ranked Blue Devils routed
Charlotte 101-59 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NIT
Season Tip-Off.

Kyle Singler finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils (3-0) -
who never trailed, hit 12 3-pointers and shot 52.9 percent in
advancing to next week's semifinal matchup at Madison Square
Garden against the TCU-Arizona State winner.

Duke went up by double figures to stay before Charlotte hit its
first field goal, and its top three scorers combined for 61
points - two more than the entire 49ers' roster.

"Those three guys on the perimeter don't need a bucket to get
them going - they are ready to go, and they're really good
basketball players," Krzyzewski said. "The three of them, 61
points, that's a pretty good night."

Shamari Spears had 20 points to lead the overmatched 49ers
(2-1). Sloppy play and 33.9 percent shooting kept them from
their first 3-0 start since 1995 and denied them a second
straight victory against a ranked opponent dating to last
season's win against then-No. 17 Xavier. They had 17 turnovers -
12 in the first half, when this one was decided.

Charlotte was expected to provide some measure of resistance for
the Blue Devils, who were short-handed during their first two
games due to forward Mason Plumlee's broken left wrist and
Smith's two-game suspension yet routed North Carolina-Greensboro
and Coastal Carolina by an average of nearly 30 points.

But with Smith back in the lineup after sitting out for playing
in an unsanctioned summer league, Duke had little trouble
claiming its NCAA-record 71st straight nonconference victory at
Cameron Indoor Stadium and 31st consecutive home win against an
unranked opponent. The Blue Devils, three-time champions of the
preseason NIT, improved to 20-2 in the event.

"(Smith) changes the dynamic of their team," Charlotte coach
Bobby Lutz said. "They weren't pushing the ball nearly as much
(without him). We knew they would, and had we had days of
preparation, we probably would have slowed the game down, but
we're not built that way. ... We wanted to pick our spots, but
they almost wouldn't allow that to happen."

If Smith wasn't determined to make up for lost time, it sure
seemed that way. He reeled off eight quick points in just more
than 3 minutes, surpassed his previous best - a 21-point outing
at Wake Forest two seasons ago as a freshman - roughly 8 minutes
into the second half and finished 9 for 15.

"When I'm in the game, the coaches want us to look to push tempo
and be aggressive, getting into the paint and making plays for
myself and for others," Smith said. "That's what I went out
there and did."

Meanwhile, Charlotte's offense at times resembled a one-man
show. Spears, a transfer from Boston College who was no stranger
to the Cameron Crazies, had his second straight 20-point
performance as a 49er. But none of his teammates had more than
six points - a big reason why Charlotte was denied its first
victory against a top 10 team since 2004.

Miles Plumlee added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Brian Zoubek
added 13 boards for the Blue Devils, who made the first half
look like one 20-minute-long burst of dominance.

They went up 14-2 before the 49ers' first basket - Rashad
Coleman hit a layup roughly 3 1/2 minutes in - as part of the
20-6 burst they used to begin the game. By the midpoint of the
half, they were up by 20 on Scheyer's 3-pointer in transition,
and pushed the lead to 30 on Singler's finger-roll with 3 1/2
minutes before the break.

The only negative in the first half for Duke would wind up being
wiped out by a scoring change: Scheyer originally was charged
with his only turnover of the season in 103 minutes. After a
postgame review, that giveaway instead went to Smith.

"They really imposed their will on us tonight from the start,"
Lutz said.